Prabhas’ Adipurush under fire as Ajay Devgn’s VFX company issues statement

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NY VFXwaala’s statement says, “We are putting this on record because we have been asked by a few media people.” A number of people earlier claimed that the company was responsible for doing the VFX of the movie.

High-profile Ramayana retelling “Adipurush” is already embroiled in controversy four months before its scheduled release because of the way Ravana and Hanuman are portrayed. It is also under fire for its “poor” visual effects. Social media users have questioned whether Saif Ali Khan is portraying Raavan, Babar or Alauddin Khilji in the movie based on his appearance with a beard.

The multilingual historical drama, which stars “Baahubali” actor Prabhas in the titular role as Lord Ram, also stars Khan as Lankesh, a king of demons with ten heads. Many criticised the makers for what they claimed was the apparent “Islamisation” of Ravana. Criticism was also levelled at the portrayal of Hanuman, who was seen wearing leather clothing and sporting a beard but no moustache.

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As hashtags like #BoycottAdipurush and #BanAdipurush gained speed, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday warned the makers of the film of legal action if scenes showing Hindu religious figures in the “wrong” way were not removed.

“I have seen the teaser of ‘Adipurush’. There are objectionable scenes in it,” Mishra, who is also the spokesperson of the state government, told reporters in Bhopal.

The dresses and look of Hindu deities as seen in the trailer were not acceptable, he said.

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“Hanuman ji is shown wearing leather, whereas the description (in the scriptures) of the deity’s costume is different… These are scenes that hurt religious sentiments. I am writing a letter to Om Raut to remove all such scenes from the film. If not removed, we will consider legal action,” Mishra said.

Director Raut and the film’s producer Bhushan Kumar were unavailable for comment despite several attempts by PTI to reach out to them.

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Others claimed that the VFX was a major letdown for a movie with an alleged budget of ₹500 crore, making it one of the most costly Indian movies ever produced. Social media users seemed amused and disappointed by the computer-generated images in some parts of the platform. CGI, which is typically an expensive process, is utilised to produce imaginative visual effects in movies.

(With PTI inputs)